[Completed] Define R5, X99, Painted H100i, Painted Noctuas, Airflow!

[xeromynd]

[COMPLETED PIX] --> 

 

Final thoughts:

-Corsair Link sucks, and is not worth it.

-Cablemod set #1 arrived with the main 24-Pin cable broken

-Painted H100i rad successfully.

-Ribbon cables suck.

 

Turned on (might have to do some super fancy black-tape modding to rid myself of that Red Q-Code LED). Can also see the little Thunderbolt EXII card in there.

Cables, managed (kinda), not the best, but I'm going to have to redo it all when the new CableMod set gets here anyway. This picture is before I had all fans running into the Commander, but you get the idea:

And a close up:

 

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The Future:

 

It's done for now, but here are more plans I have:

-New CableMod C-Series White Set (Or maybe their Black and White set?)

-No visible drives. System drive to M.2, two 1TB 2.5" 7200 HGST Travelstars mounted behind motherboard, last 4TB backup drive will be external

-A GTX 980 Guess I should wait for the AMD 300 series to see if NVIDIA prices their 900 series differently, but I doubt it. Currently back and forth between the EVGA 980 and the Galax HOF 980 (the sexier of the two).

-PSU Shroud - I have no idea how to even go about this, but that's what the internet is for.

 

Thanks for tuning in m8s.

 

 

PART 1:

 

So I decided I should post the build log for my newest (and third ever) full PC build so the LTT community can either crucify what I did, or tell me I don't suck at PC building, we'll see!

 

I'd been asking questions 'round the forum for the past month or so, double and triple checking to make sure everything I'd wanted to throw in this build work play nice together.

 

To any of you that have helped me along the way over the past few months by sharing your experiences with similar components THANK YOU.

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NAMING THIS BUILD: Like the title says, I need a name for this build. This isn't my first build, but it is the first one that I thought deserves a name. I'm not into cheesy stuff like ARCTIC TIGER FREEZE EXTREME, but would prefer something more subtle. Obviously something to do with the color scheme, Black & White, or being cold. 

 

I've been toying around with AVEN, like RAVEN without the R, not sure why really, it's just a name that's been stuck in my head for a while. Also something like "Frost" would be cool I guess.

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Initial Parts List:

 

MOBO - Asus X99-Pro

Initially very skeptical because of its Newegg reviews, and many horror stories of RMAs on X99 boards thus-far. Hoping since X99 is now 5 months matured, I'll be okay.

 

CPU - Intel i7-5820k

Was given a free "upgrade plan" at MicroCenter, which basically means if I want to upgrade my CPU to the 5930k or 5960X any time within the next two years, I return the 5820k and pay the difference between the two.

 

Cooling - Corsair H100i w/ 4x SP120 PWM High Perf. in Push/Pull

Is push/pull necessary? No. Can I do it because I have SP120's lying around? Hell yes. I had it in my old 650D build, so going from having it to not having it wouldn't feel right. Will the Dominator heat-sinks interfere? Stick around to find out.

            

RAM - 16GB Dominator Platinum DDR4 @ 2666 MHz

          - w/ 2x Dominator Light-Bar Kit

I chose Dominator because I'd been saving up for this build for a damn long time, and I wanted it to look nice. (Isn't aesthetics the only damn reason anyone buys this RAM?) Even though DDR4 is expected to mature to like 4000MHz, I'm okay at 2666, the exponential price increase to a 3000k kit was insane.

 

GPU - EVGA GTX 760 4GB

This will be my bottleneck in gaming, I understand that. I have plans to go to a 980, but am waiting to sell my old components, and for AMD's 300 series to be released to see if that has any impact on NVIDIA card pricing.

 

PSU - Seasonic SS-X750 (80+ Gold, Fully Modular)

         - w/ CableMod Single Braid SE-Series Cable Set (white)

This is the PSU I was using with my old build. It's been great to me

 

Case - Fractal Design Define R5

Not much to say here, it's amazing.

 

Storage - 1x Samsung 840 Evo 120 GB SSD (Boot Drive)

               - 1x HGST Deskstar NAS 4TB (Internal Backup)

               - 2x WD Black 1TB (Audio Drive and Gaming Drive)

When the tech matures, and the price comes down, I plan to go to M.2 for the system drive, mount two 2.5" drives 

 

Case Fans - 4x NF-A14 iPPC 2000 (3x front intake, 1x rear exhaust)

                  - Corner brown rubber anti-vibration pieces to be painted white.

 

Other - 1x Corsair Commander Mini - So all fans and maybe some temp sensors, H100i, can be controlled via. Software.

            - 1x Asus Thunderbolt EXII Card- To give me thunderbolt or FW i/o for the frequent    

                  external drives I use.

            - Rubber Anti-vibration Gaskets and grommets for all fans (space                        permitting)

 

**PSU and Internal Drives (other than HGST) not pictured, as they're in the previous build currently in the R5.

 

Part II Update coming next! 

 

 

[HeathCliff]

Looking forward to it.

 

NAMING THIS BUILD: Like the title says, I need a name for this build. This isn't my first build, but it is the first one that I thought deserves a name. I'm not into cheesy stuff like ARCTIC TIGER FREEZE EXTREME, but would prefer something more subtle. Obviously something to do with the color scheme, Black & White, or being cold. 

 

I've been toying around with AVEN, like RAVEN without the R, not sure why really, it's just a name that's been stuck in my head for a while. Also something like "Frost" would be cool I guess.

 

As for the name, maybe something from Norse mythology like Niflheim?

[Prastupok]

S65. 

 

After the Mercedes... business looks with killer performance.

[IP man]

Nice computer man!, but why in the hell would you name your computer lol :lol:

[HeathCliff]

Nice computer man!, but why in the hell would you name your computer lol :lol:

 

Why would you not?

[IP man]

Why would you not?

Well i guess you can, but i dont understand the point of it. but hey! if he wants to then go for it 

 

Sexybeastcomputernoscoper name?

[xeromynd]

Nice computer man!, but why in the hell would you name your computer lol :lol:

Well aside from the fact that you actually do HAVE to name it in Windows, naming the PC, or "project" seems to be the trend when you finally get to build a machine you're proud of and have been wanting to build for a long time. Makes it feel "complete." Plus I'll probably be making a PSU shroud in the future, and modding a large window on to the case, so I'd probably want to put the name on the PSU shroud.

 

Some people name their cars, bikes, etc (or whatever hobby they also use as a money-sinkhole  :lol: )

 

Looking forward to it.

 

 

 

As for the name, maybe something from Norse mythology like Niflheim?

Something like this has also been intriguing, Norse mythology would be cool, or something in German

[Shaqo_Wyn]

Nice computer man!, but why in the hell would you name your computer lol :lol:

 

Why the hell would he ask us to name it? His workhorse, surely one wouldn't want somebody else naming it..

[Shaqo_Wyn]

 

MOBO - Asus X99-Pro

Initially very skeptical because of its Newegg reviews, and many horror stories of RMAs on X99 boards thus-far. Hoping since X99 is now 5 months matured, I'll be okay.

 

 

 

 

Noice build bruh!

 

People who have problems with components are the ones that hop on Newegg and vent. They're inevitable. Doesn't mean it's crap.

I'd take the negative reviews with I giant mountain of salt if I were you.

[Prastupok]

Noice build bruh!

 

People who have problems with components are the ones that hop on Newegg and vent. They're inevitable. Doesn't mean it's crap.

I'd take the negative reviews with I giant mountain of salt if I were you.

 

I've been using my X99-Deluxe with a 4.7ghz chip fully loaded 24/7 since I got it... not a single stutter, and I've been logging.

[xeromynd]

I've been using my X99-Deluxe with a 4.7ghz chip fully loaded 24/7 since I got it... not a single stutter, and I've been logging.

Well that's reassuring.

 

Also (not to throw my own thread off track) but your title DOES say "audio engineer." I've checked with some other audio dudes I know, one of whom has X99 running with no hiccups, so am I to assume you're running stable DAWs and audio drivers on X99? (Pro Tools, Nuendo, FL, what-have-you...) If so, that's also reassuring 

[Prastupok]

Well that's reassuring.

Also (not to throw my own thread off track) but your title DOES say "audio engineer." I've checked with some other audio dudes I know, one of whom has X99 running with no hiccups, so am I to assume you're running stable DAWs and audio drivers on X99? (Pro Tools, Nuendo, FL, what-have-you...) If so, that's also reassuring

Yes they all work just fine on X99. However my build (The Leviathan) is my work pc.

[Norman_the_Owl]

You're using corsair link?

That's like asking the bank of the united states to manage your money...it'll do it, but it'll be a pain in the ass

[xeromynd]

You're using corsair link?

That's like asking the bank of the united states to manage your money...it'll do it, but it'll be a pain in the ass

All my experiences with it in my previous build were 100% fine, so I don't have any reason to distrust it yet, as It's worked for me thusfar

[xeromynd]

Part 2: 

 

Puttin dat stuff in.

 

I was going to do things the way you're supposed to (build a temp testbed on the motherboard box) and NOT just put everything in the case straight away, but the Intel stock cooler I had wouldn't fit (that's for 1155, 1150, and 2011 only), and I really didn't want to hook up my whole H100i outside the case and have my tubes and radiator just sitting there, that's asking for something to get knocked over.

 

Thus: INTO THE CASE WE GO.

 

(Installing only core stuff first though, only plugging in the system drive and a few fans, going to wait to hook the Commander Mini up until everything (including Corsair Link) is installed.

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1.) Mounted NF-A14's in front of R5 for intake (also one on the bottom front of the case). All are filtered thanks to Fractal being A++. The brown corner anti-vibration doohickeys were painted white with PlastiDip. Took about 6-8 coats total to finish it off.

 

Had to swap the included screw that Fractal provides for front fan mounting, as they were too short (taking the additional length into account because of the rubber padding on the NF-A14's vs. the stock Fractal fans). Luckily the same 6/32 screws that are used on the H100i worked here. I kind of like the Silver, and don't mind that they aren't black. Also had to use washers, as they wouldn't have gone over the rubber if it was just a straight screw.

 

 

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2.) Sliced my finger open on the X99-Pro I/O shield. No rolled metal edges there, fyi. Ouch. 

 

And cue me freaking out for about 30 minutes because I was paranoid I'd gotten BLOOD on my brand spankin new X99-Pro. At this point, now praying that that wasn't the case and hoping everything will boot up when I finish. Lawd help me.

 

 

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3.) Mounting X99-Pro.

 

She's in. No visible signs of blood, but still praying to lawd Gaben.

 

 

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4.) Corsair, wtf is this.

 

Another casual panic/laugh was had as I tried for 30 minutes to figure out what the HELL these connectors even were. Sorry for the slight blur, couldn't get my phone to focus on the cables.

 

 

These are the two included Y-splitter PWM cables that Corsair includes with their H100i (one head not pictured). Two of these go from the CPU block, and split to two PWM fans each (4 total).

 

I had my H100i RMA'd after owning it for 2 years (before starting this build), the cables with my first H100i didn't look like this, so now I was getting super confused and thinking Corsair started to include some proprietary BS for connecting Corsair-Only fans to these.

 

> not until 30 minutes later did I realize that there were just covers on the pins of the cables. They slid right off. FML.

 

Will continue later w/ more pic.

 

And yes, I need lotion for my hands. Sorry.

[Aw27]

Had the exact same confusion with my h100i I panicked for about 2 hours haha

[xeromynd]

Had the exact same confusion with my h100i I panicked for about 2 hours haha

 

I was super worried because my buddy had an issue with the proprietary-ness of the fan controller connectors on his Corsair Carbide 500R a week earlier, so I though "oh fantastic, here's another proprietary thing that I didn't plan for at all"

 

Luckily, was just me bein dumb. 

[HellaflushMcSwaggins]

When I built my pc, I cut my finger in the IO shield too, it how it should be.Thou shall bleed during the process of building thy pc

[xeromynd]

Aaaaaaand here we are many days late and MANY dollars short. But very pleased.

 

Part 3:

 

Finishing Up

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1.) Push/Pull is a bitch and then you die.

 

So I fit everything into the case. The Push/Pull rad was A BITCH to get on, especially since I wanted to gasket every contact point between hardware. (Why? Because why not, doesn't hurt to try). This meant I had to essentially hold my two fans stacked on the radiator stacked on two more fans together (with gaskets in between everything) while trying to position everything and screw it in. Tl:dr, it's not worth it, trust me. 

 

*Hey look a different PSU*

 

 

I decided to put the blue LED rings on the top rad fans. And then I looked at it and decided I really DIDNT like the way they looked, and that I also didn't like the Blue color bars on the Dominator ram. Thus: let's scratch that half hour of trying to fit the radiator assembly on, and DO IT ALL OVER! Woooooooooo.

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2.) CABLEMOD: HOW COULD YOU!?!?  (And my own stupidity)

 

CableMod cables, you may notice, are not in the above picture. Here's why:

 

THEY BROKE SON. (Not the only reason). To have these cables arrive broken was a major bummer, as they look SOOOO good. Of course, one of the broken ones was the 24-pin cable, great! "But you've got to be a little bit tech savvy! Can't you just get in there and fix it??"  Maybe, but:

 

I was dumb. In shopping for the cables online, I decided that I needed the SE-Series, to match my Seasonic X750 PSU. Makes sense right? Wrong. I stupidly used my Newegg order history to tell me what the model of my PSU was instead of just digging out the box from my closet and looking (laziness). Without realizing, my Newegg order history linked me to the NEW model of the PSU, which IS KM3 and IS compatible with the CableMod SE-Series. My PSU, is KM, and thus not compatible. Tears were shed as I realized this upon trying to plug the cables in.

 

On impulse, I decided "hey let's get a new PSU, it's been about 5 years" So I ran to Micro Center, and got myself an HX750i (pictured above). Corsair Link capability? Awesome, 80+ Platinum? Awesome. I'm going to sell the replacement SE CableMod set that gets sent to me and use the $$$ to buy the C-Series set to match this. 

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3.) Corsair Link:

 

 

wait for it......

 

wait for it....

 

 

SUCKS

 

"yeah m8 corsair link wot u got I can monitor deez temps and RPMs in software" Except not. I tried, I really tried to give Corsair Link a chance. It had worked fine in my previous build for oh so long, but now, no matter what combination of USB headers, link cables, or crap I tried, I could not get everything to show up. (H100i, HX750i, and Commander) It just didn't work. Sometimes stuff would be there, then I'd restart, and Corsair link would tell me my fans were spinning at 12RPM. No... I updated all the Firmware on each device, but that didn't help at all.

 

So now, I have unlinked my H100i (I don't care about seeing pump speed), and I only have my HX750 and Commander (controlling all 6 internal fans) plugged in, and it works much better. I decided to ditch Push/Pull because...well...it's just a bitch. Hard to get on, hard to get off, now my system is two fans quieter, 3 degrees warmer, and I have less cables to manage. Farewell pushpull, I knew thee well.

 

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4.) Finished...for now.

 

Seems now I'm finally done (for now). As I said, removed pushpull, tried to make everything as white as possible (no blue accents). I do plan to make a PSU shroud one day, so that'll cover the Blue of the HX750i.

 

 

Turned off:

Turned on (might have to do some super fancy black-tape modding to rid myself of that Red Q-Code LED). Can also see the little Thunderbolt EXII card in there.

Cables, managed (kinda), not the best, but I'm going to have to redo it all when the new CableMod set gets here anyway. This picture is before I had all fans running into the Commander, but you get the idea:

And a close up:

 

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The Future:

 

It's done for now, but here are more plans I have:

-New CableMod C-Series White Set (Or maybe their Black and White set?)

-No visible drives. System drive to M.2, two 1TB 2.5" 7200 HGST Travelstars mounted behind motherboard, last 4TB backup drive will be external

-A GTX 980 Guess I should wait for the AMD 300 series to see if NVIDIA prices their 900 series differently, but I doubt it. Currently back and forth between the EVGA 980 and the Galax HOF 980 (the sexier of the two).

-PSU Shroud - I have no idea how to even go about this, but that's what the internet is for.

 

Thanks for tuning in m8s.

 

 

(Also still need a name for this, I have no idea.)

 

[xeromynd]

Update 4/28/15

 

Decided to paint my H100i radiator to match the build.

Came out pretty nice if I do say so myself. 

 

Initially tried to use PlastiDip which did NOT look good, and was super annoying, ended up going with regular white spraypaint and a clear acrylic coating. Slight overspray on one of the tubes, but it's barely noticeable. Also did use a thin coat of Krylon black metal paint to **GASP** paint the radiator fins        ( to cover up some dents and scratches). Worked out fine.

 

 

yey

[xeromynd]

That sucks that the cablemod cables broke on you 

 

Yeah I was pretty surprised. Not only that, but CableMod has sent me on a (now two month) journey of getting them replaced. Contacted someone in their RMA department who's been "very sorry, will check on the replacement set now"-ing forever. No response for weeks. (still)

 

Ended up ordering a different set anyway now that I have a Corsair PSU, but come on, at least do SOMETHING about your broken cables.

 

I ended up stress testing one of the Molex cables I knew I wouldn't be needing from my new set. The wire came out of its housing with surprising ease. Definitely be careful when moving these cables about.